His Heart in My Pocket
by Chi Haku
Summary: Nico diAngelo was not the kind of person that I would have originally liked in the least. And in the end, I held his heart in my pocket. NicoxOC NicoOC NicoAme


**A/N:** Quick forward note- I MEANT TO GROUP THE SPEECH LIKE THAT. I was trying a new style. Shut up.

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Maybe it was because I was such a naturally depressed girl that of all the gods I prayed to first and foremost, it was Hades. A close second was Artemis, but if I were to choose, I will always pray for his guidance first. My obsession with the line between life and death had given me trouble more than once, but I am happy to say that the god of death himself seemed to have a soft spot for me.

As it were, so did his son.

Nico diAngelo was not the kind of person that I would have originally liked in the least. In fact, when we first met, I wanted to strangle him. My best friend, Percy, held my sentiments. But after his sister's death, he changed, and suddenly I saw a reflection of myself in him. It seemed that he saw the same in me.

During the months he was missing, there were times when Percy would lose hope. When that happened, as if he could sense it, I would feel him. A hot-cold tingling in the pit of my stomach, boiling warmly up to my heart and freezing there.

Nico diAngelo is not one for words, he did not describe his feelings. In between the time I first met him and the time he came to our side, I rarely spoke to him. I only had one true conversation with him, and it was one he would never admit to.

I found him in his room at the Triple G ranch, curled up, knees to chest, on his bed, sobbing softly. He was confused and alone, a feeling that I, as the last of my kind, knew only too well.

"I'm FINE." he grumbled darkly, looking away from me, eyes cold and distant. In response I said to him, "Trust me when I say that when a person says that, they are always lying." For a long while he said nothing in return, before fixing me with an icy glare. This is when the connection I had felt with him intensified, and I knew, without words, he too felt it deep in his bones, his blood, perhaps his very soul.

"You're right, I'm not fine. But trust ME when I say that there is NOTHING you can do." his voice did not quaver as I expected, it held firm, just as the voice of Hades had, when I met him. I swallowed the comfort I had prepared myself for, glad that my sorry attempt at such was not needed. "You are…startled, by this new information."I have learned one thing about the gods who created my race, watch your words, be careful how you say things around certain people. And if that applies to the gods, one would assume that it applies to the demigods. I am not usually one to be cautious of such things, but this was Nico, son of Hades. His father was the one who basically brought about the beginning of my kind.

"Yeah." was his only replay for a while, then, "I guess you're right." I knew to keep quiet after this, waiting for he to speak first. "I just…don't know what to do."

I have never prided myself on my advice, despite how people have always told me it helps. I believe myself to be the darker type, trying to find the relative good in the situation, despite the obvious darkness. I prefer reality to the happiness of a fantasy, no matter how nice the fantasy was.

However in this situation, it was the heir to my lord whom needed my help, and I would deliver to the best of my abilities.

"Nico…" I murmured, my voice its usual softness. "Perhaps… You should stop listening to what everyone tells you. For a moment, stop and really think about your options, what do you truly want. I am not saying to decide on your next path in life NOW, but I know that in time, you will know what to do with yourself." I smiled softly. "Keep in mind that while we may not agree on a lot of matters, you are still Hades' son. I shall stand by you, unless you side yourself with Kronos at which time I WILL strike you down."

I know that yes, that may have been taking it a step over the edge, but I felt it needed to be said.

To my surprise, Nico nodded his head, as if truly contemplating what I said.

Later, I would stand witness to the fact that my advice had stopped him from falling victim to his fatal flaw, the Hades born habit of bearing grudges, upon learning the fate of his mother. But that is not the time that I was heading towards at the beginning of my speech.

And so I take us slightly backwards to when Nico was young and I first met him. GODS but he was an annoying boy. Jumpy and excited and altogether just…HAPPY. Happiness I have no problem with, but overly enthusiastic happiness in the face of certain death. That, well, THAT I had a problem with. He acted as though finding out he was the son of the god of death was nothing.

I wished at that time for him to perhaps understand the severity of what was going on. Later that year, it took all of Percy's power to assure me that NO my wish to the gods had not been the start of Nico's decline. There was nothing we could do to stop Bianca's death, and all we could do was hope to help him, in any way we could.

Over the time (suddenly, it was years, when just moments ago it seemed, it was naught but months) I had known Nico, he changed very much. From excited child, to revenge seeking soldier, to soul broken son, to where he stood now, proud, powerful warrior. I had seen these changes in him, and yet, I missed the ones between myself and he, and fear perhaps was what caused this. I feared the change within my heart, feared that his father would say no, that HE would say no, or maybe, that when the time came(if ever), I would.

But as the fates (cunning and sneaky as they were) would have it, the answer to my pleas of "Just END it! Make him REJECT me already!" were answered at the most inconvenient of times.

No, there were no glowing lights, unless Greek Fire and the slight glow of a Hunter counted. There was no romantic music (there were snorting skeletal horses and whimpering satyrs in the background though), no nice dinner (I had barely eaten over the last few days), no nothing at all. Around me, war raged, beside me, stood my three closest friends. Two half-bloods and a Hunter, one half-blood, now invincible but for a small place on his back. These were my comrades, my pack, my clan, and I had all but wiped Nico from my mind, when he reappeared.

As if from shadow came my lord and his son, I had to resist the urge to drop to my knees in respect (Percy has never seen that side of me, and I did not feel like just at this time revealing it). The dismounted to speak to us briefly before beginning to fight, and I was both shocked and proud to hear how Nico had convinced his father. I felt as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I had disliked the animosity between father and son.

As Hades spoke, I tried to listen to him, truly I did, but my eyes strayed to Nico, and I found, his had strayed to me. One look in his deep eyes and I saw everything. Fear, happiness, sadness, hope, hate, anger, love, chaos and peace, all raging together inside the child who wielded the undead. Then, his eyes calmed, and I saw but one thing. My heart rate sped up and I felt as though my breath would catch in my throat.

Nico nodded to me once, a small, innocent smile on his lips, before turning back to his father. As soon as they started to depart into battle, he purposely brushed past me, murmuring something that perhaps he hoped I would not hear, and yet I did.

"You wear my heart in your pocket Ame, please take great care of it, we of Hades tend to only give it away once."

Much later, as we stood in the hall of the Olympians, I smiled to myself as Hades put a hand on his son's shoulder, a single, perfect sign of recognition and affection from father to son. I glanced to Aphrodite, who had long ago proclaimed me a lost cause to try to turn tragic, because apparently I was doing that on my own. At that time, in the limousine outside Hephaestus' junkyard, I had not known what she meant. Now I had a pretty good idea.

She looked down at me and winked, toying with the same red thread she had worn in her hair the first day we met. As I watched, she took one end, then the other and slowly, just to annoy me, tied a perfect knot, disguised as a bow. I didn't need to ask whom the other end of my circle belonged to, for I had a pretty good notion I still had his heart in my pocket.


End file.
